You get an "A+" for being polite and helpful. I would get an "F." It's not my responsibility to solve their problem. Once reason I fly United is that I can select my seat. And when I can't get the seat I want, I take a different flight.

What burns me the most are people who PURPOSELY seat in an unassigned seat and "pretend" they're in the right seat. Or worse, people who do the same thing in order seat next to their [insert wife, husband, mother, significant other] and then assume the person who is correctly assigned to the seat will say "OK" when that person boards the plane. Even worse, when the offender is a IK or GS and pretend to have that baffled look when you say "no." It just infuriates me! I don't raise my voice; I just say "no" with no explanation. No additional conversation from me is required or needed.

Long ago, when I said, "no," the guy half of the couple said he would speak to the FA. I laughed to myself. Yeah, right. The FA will ask me to move? I don't think so, but give it a try. :-) The wife ended up sitting next to me and I never saw him, again. On my recent Christmas bound SFO-IAD, the female part of the couple "pretended" I was in the wrong seat. She: "Oh. You're sitting on the aisle?" (757, first class.) Me: I just stared at her and thought: You know damn well your husband is in the aisle seat across from me and you're in window seat next to me. She: "Oh. We're traveling together." Me: Just stared. Husband: "It's OK, Mary. Let's see if the other person will switch." But what does she do? She sits next to her husband - the seat for which she is not assigned and when the guy who has that seat boards the plane, she doesn't ask, she says: "I'd like to seat next to my husband if you don't mind." The guy acquiesces. Argh!!!

Couples!!! The bane of my existence when I travel. :-)